60,000 children caught in the crossfire

A UN report confirms that tribal militia chiefs are arming underage recruits in the protracted conflict that erupted in August and tailed off after February's shaky ceasefire deal.

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Annual study also finds young soldiers fighting on both sides NEW YORK // Children's rights groups have long feared that tribal militia chiefs were arming underage recruits with Kalashnikovs to fight in the seven-year-old conflict between Yemen's minority Shiites and a Sunni-dominated government. The UN's annual report on children and armed conflict last Friday confirmed that almost 700 children fought alongside Houthi rebels as well as a government-affiliated militia, called al Jaysh al Sha'bi, or "Popular Army".

It reveals that some 60,000 children were caught in crossfire between rebel and government troops during the so-called "sixth war" of a protracted conflict that erupted in August and tailed off after February's shaky ceasefire deal. "The UN's agency for children, Unicef, and child protection partners conducted several investigations in the conflict-affected areas in Sa'ada, Amran and Hajja in order to document incidents and cases of grave violations against children," the report says.

The 51-page document, which will be debated by the Security Council next month, outlines the urgent need to "ensure, through action plans, access to, and identification and release of, children associated with armed forces and groups to child protection partners". Researchers believe that 402 children were recruited by the Houthis and 282 by the Popular Army, including 59 abductees. The figures "only represent a portion" of the true numbers, the document said, describing reports that "as many as half of the total number of fighters" were underage.

Fighting left 189 children dead and 155 more injured - mostly the result of shelling but about 29 per cent though lack of food or medical supplies, said the report. Again, the actual number of child fatalities is feared to be much higher. Children also suffered from the destruction of 17 schools and use of a further 16 as military bases, according to the report. Earlier this month, Unicef reported that rebels still occupied schools in Sa'ada more than three months after the truce.

"Schools should be zones of peace where children can learn and thrive," said Geert Cappelaere, the agency's envoy in Yemen. "Using them for military or inappropriate political purposes is a violation of children's rights and of international humanitarian law." More than 1,000 children are detained in Yemeni jails, having been "captured from opposing forces during the conflict or suspected of being fighters or pro-Houthis" the report said. "The UN does not have access to those children."

Human rights groups have warned about the use of child soldiers in Yemen's mountainous north for months, but evidence has remained patchy and anecdotal and estimates of the number involved have varied greatly. The most recent Yemen report by The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, from 2008, describes an underage Houthi faction, known as Shabab al Moumineen, or Believing Youth, and accused of launching attacks against government and western targets.

Tribal elders train children to respect clan identities, whether Houthi or those of government-backed proxy tribal groups, analysts say. Young teenage boys often see AK47s as status symbols and face pressure to fight alongside adult men in their family. Widespread use of child soldiers does not come as a surprise to many - children from newborns to those aged 14 make up 46 per cent of Yemen's 23-million population and the average age is less than 17. The Arab world's poorest nation is also awash with firearms.

Recruiting those under the age of 18 breaches the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its optional protocols. Recruiting children under the age of 15 is defined as a war crime by the International Criminal Court. Yemeni officials were not available to comment. February's ceasefire heralded the end of fighting between government forces, their tribal proxies and the rebel Houthis - adherents of Yemen's minority Zaidi group who have taken up arms against the leadership six times since 2004.

The number of civilians forced from their homes could be as high as 350,000, with only a tenth of those able to reach formal camps and the remainder scattered across Sa'ada and surrounding provinces living in makeshift shelters and relatives' homes. This week's report, from the UN's special representative for children and armed conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, highlighted violations against children in trouble spots from Afghanistan to Somalia.

"Combat is no place for children. We still live in a world with those who would use children as spies, soldiers and human shields," said Ms Coomaraswamy. "The shifting nature of conflict has put many children on the front lines. Too often children become collateral damage during military operations." [e-mail]